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Topic: Prostate Cancer (Read 5306 times)

I'm at the start of a long road. My yearly physical and blood test revealed an enlarged prostate and PSA level of 4.3

That level triggered a visit to a urologist who performed a prostate biopsy. The results of that biopsy came back this week and indicated that I have prostate cancer. I am now meeting with various doctors to go over my options. It looks like based on my age (47), that eventhough prostate cancer is slow growing and more men die with it than from it, I must act on this for the sake of my future. The two options available to me are radiation or robotic surgery. Based on my research, it looks like radiation is less invasive now but creates all sorts of complications down the road (10-15+ years) that will leave the area "unfixable" and any further work will be radical surgery that will likely leave the plumbing non-functional. The surgery option would be a full removal of the prostate. Right now it looks like the cancer has not spread out of the gland itself, so removal now will mean I can move forward with a cancer free life and would not need to fear this issue in the future. Downsides are a greater risk of impotence and incontinence vs. radiation, although the incontinence is fixable.

I have a few more doctors to see in the next couple of weeks. I'm leaning towards surgery at the moment. It really seems to be a decision between one bad choice and another bad choice.

I'll update this thread as I have more information. Maybe what I find and experience will help others in the future.

But please, guys, get your PSA levels checked. Even in your 40s. The urologist told me yesterday that even though this was caught "early", it has likely been something I've had for 10 years. The Gov't doesn't recommend PSA screening until a man hits 50. That really is too late. I've ready too many accounts online from guys my age or younger who have been found to have prostate cancer. There really are no symptoms to give you a clue to it's presence in any stage early enough to deal with it neatly, so physical exams (that dreaded finger test) and checking the PSA level in the blood is crucial. Get it done guys.

Hey Mitch. I truly hate to hear this. I am glad you got it caught fairly early and I'm sure that everything will work out in the end. I will keep you and your family in my prayers and if you need ANYTHING, please let us know! Please keep us updated as well!

They think that the cancer is fully contained in the prostate. If that is the case, then removal of the organ will be all I need. If it has moved to areas surrounding it, then I will also need radiation. The biopsy results seem to indicate that it is indeed still within the prostate only, but there's always a bit of wiggle room and uncertainty because they won't know for sure until they get in there, look around and also sample the surrounding lymph nodes.

Post surgery, fingers crossed that erections return eventually. The nerves attached to the prostate control that, so the goal of the robotic surgery is to cut the nerves off of the outside of the prostate and preserve them so that sexual function can be maintained. Assuming that sexual function returns, then I'll be shooting blanks. The prostate is responsible for much semen production and the procedure also cuts the vas deferens, so it's also essentially a vasectomy. Orgasm can still occur, but nothing comes out. Aside from that, the prostate isn't used for anything except to cause morning wood. The urinary tract runs through it, so it has to be replumbed to connect without that organ.

They say the recovery isn't as uncomfortable as post-hernia surgery, so that's good. It's just a wait and see as to when the nerves for erections might come back online. There's a chance that that might not happen, but with the right doctor, that chance is slim.

Hope I don't sound rude. Would Viagra help with this if you couldn't get an erection on your own?

Not necessarily. It depends on the nature of the dysfunction. It would be because the nerves are messed up. They haven't given me a firm (no pun intended) percentage of guys that don't respond to ED meds, but I know it is some. But to help things along, they are going to start me on "penile therapy" starting two weeks prior to surgery. Basically it will be a Viagra a day to increase blood flow in the area. That supposedly helps with the recovery. After surgery I think that continues for a number of weeks too.